FEEDJIT

Thursday, November 26, 2009

Cleansing is one of the easiest thing you can do to achieve and maintain beautiful skin, and it's almost essential when you wear any face product, such as foundation, powder, concealer, blush..etc. I have learned this the hard way, and now i have incorporated this simple step into my skin regime. Lets just say that i can no longer go to bed, realizing that i have make up on my face.

Pupose of Cleansing

Because the skin on our face is unlike any other area on our body, our skin need a little extra care. Other then besides the fact that it's about self esteem and confidence for women and men, it's also a hygene routine. Cleansing removes the debris that has accumulated on our face throughout the day, as well as excess oil that could led to future break out. When you wear make up, you are exposing your face with products that are not necessary and it makes it even more important to remove the make up at the end of the day. Why? People often associate make up with the process of aging. Though i don't think there is scientific facts that makeup correlates directly to premature aging, i can say that if you do not properly and consistently remove all the make up at the end of the day before you go to bed, you are endangering and increasing the likelihood of premature aging. The way you apply your make up, like tugging can contribute to premature wrinkles, so make up itself may not directly case aging of skin, but the maintain make up will. I truly live by this, and i encourage everyone to consider it. Your skin will thank you later, and you can avoid the need to seek a cure for your aging skin.( atleast for a few years) Prevent now, not cure later.

What do you look for in a Cleanser?

Here is what i perfer:

1.cleansers that do not leave me skin feeling tight2.skin feels moisturized not dried out3.skin feels clean, but not squeeky4.gentle and non-alcoholic5.i'm really starting to like the foam type of cleanser, it's very easy and apply to the face. Less effort is needed in applying and spreading the product across the face6.i perfer them in a pump, i don't like to squeeze the product, it makes it easier7.removes most if not all, makeup like foundation, concealer, powder..etc. (eye makeup doesn't count- there is eye makeup remover for that!)

So now that i have gave a little introduction on cleanser, and the importance of cleansing, let me show and tell what i've been using for the pass two weeks

I did not purchase this. My mom bought a set a few weeks ago, because she wanted to get a moisturizer from there and lucky her, they have the exact mositurizer she wants in a set, with other products from the line, so she just got the set, because it was more of a bang for the buck. So this cleanser came with the set, and i have been using it to test it out. It came in a baby size.

Inital Review on the Product

So this cleanser has made me fall in love with foam cleansing. it's just so easy to apply on the face, and you can easily massage it into the face, without having to use much force like with creamier moisturizers. i rub it into my face in circular motion, and then i splash it off with water

It leaves my skin squeeky clean. i like the fact that it completely removes the oil, but at the same time it also feels tight and almost drying. I really wanted to like this product, but i'm just not feeling it. I think it depends on personal perference, i perfer cleansers to leave me with a clean feeling, but doesn't make my face feels tight, bcos it's just uncomfortable. I don't really like the squeekiness either. What i mean is when you rub your face, its so clean that when you rub your face there is a lot of friction. i feel like i definately need to moisturize after i use this product. For the most part, i don't really put on moisturizer when i go to bed, i do in the morning, but not when i go to bed, unless my skin feels very dried out.

After using this product. my face does seem to slightly glow. It doesn't leave any residue at all!

This product smells nice. I think it smells sweet but it also reminds me of some flower.

i only need a pea size and it's enough for my entire face, because it's foamy. i like how it looks creamy when you put it on your faces, and when you apply it, it turns into foam.

How well does it remove make up?

So let's move onto the main point of this topic. most of us would think that, when you use a cleanser that makes yuo feel like you removed every single little thing off your face that it's a good cleanser, but that's not always the case. Why?? because you can't micro-socopically see it. So what do we want to do to know that your cleanser is doing it's job?

Test the efficency of your Cleanser

You can test how well your cleanser is at cleansing. How? the answer baby, is with a toner. We always hear the saying "cleanse, tone, and moisturize" but i belive that if you have a good cleanser, you don't need to tone. Tonning is just an extra step to ensure that you remove the excess that your cleanser could not have done.

The experiment

So this is what i did. In the morning before class i applied foundation, blush, and my other makeup routine. At the end of the day, i used the Estee Lauder cleanser to wash my face, before i went to bed. Because i wore eye make up, i also used make up remover to clean my face, but i can't use the cleanser to clean my eye makeup, (it might sting my eye) so after that i have a habit of also tonning, just because i have toners that i have previously purchased and now just trying to finish it off.

This is what i used in this experiment:

And this is what i saw later...

I used Clinique Toner ( that one that comes with their acne sets) to tone my face, with a cotton ball, and i saw some of the foundation that the cleanser did not remove. I was so surprised because the cleanser made my face feel and look so clean, but apparently it's not as clean as i thought it was. So i just so amazed. Maybe you guys could think about it the next time you wash your face. Think twice before you buy the same cleanser again, because maybe it's not doing that much of a good as you thought it was. So you might think that the cleanser might not have even removed everything, but it has definately removed more then your cleanser.

Let me just say that, the cleanser did not say that it removes make up, but as a cleanser itself. i think it should be able to remove make up. Maybe not mascara, but a decent cleanser should remove foundation and powder, along with oil..etc.

Overall, i would probably not purchae the full size product. I believe there is better products out there for myself. The product says for oil and combination skin, and i have combination skin, but i just feel it's a little over drying, and i dont like how it makes my face feels squeeky clean. It's not perferd during this cold, dry weather season. I want a clean face, without the squeekiness, if you know what i mean. i would recommend it, if you do perfer it that way though. I will look for a cleanser that would do a better job at removing my face make up.

Rating:Quality : 2.5/5Price: 2/5Purcahse again?: no

i hope you have enjoyed reading this post. I've jsut been so addicted about taking care of my face, that i've learned and read quite a lot of things, and this is just what i thought i'd share. if there is anything that i've said that is wrong, let me knoww!

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

So i went to rexall today and i just had to update you guys on what i have discovered. SO i know that alot of us don't have the time to read flyers, and some of us don't even get flyers from certain stores, because of the area we live in. I don't even live far from Rexall, yet i don't understand why i don't get their flyers. I don't even get Shoppers flyers. How rude. haha

At the moment Rexall is having 30% sale on all foundations , concealers, blushes, bronzers, and basically any face cosmetic products. Pure Cosmetics is also having a 50% sale on everything on their line. It's a great opprotunity to pick up some eyeshadows, because they do look super pretty. They just don't offer a wide range of selections, but definately check it out if you like eye shadows. THe price range is from 20-40. Depending on the single shadows, or the palettes.

So what elsee.. Well I also discovered that NYX had a sale. They had a sale of 20% off NYX Ultra Pearl Mania. These are basically loose eyeshadow/ pigments/ glitter. THey have approximately 50 ish colour, and i picked up five.

What do i think of the Colour?

The colour is amazing, i love the colours. They are very shimmery, but it's not over the top. You can easily tone it down when you apply it wet. When you apply it dry, it's alot more shimmery. Here are some quick swatches that i've performed on my bf. Don't mind the vains...he's...a boy..hahaha

Pigments are multi-functional, depending on the colour. in Some tones, you can apply them on your checks, like a bonzer, or like a MSF, because of their shimmering properties. You can use them as eyeshadows alone, or as a base to further emphasis your eyeshadows. You can even use them on your lips! but i mainly use it as a base, or as a eyeshadow alone on my eye. They are just LOVE. As you can tell i'm super excited to play with these babies. I can already tell they would look hot if your gonna club.

Colour:

I really love the colour payoff. It's very vibrant, and i'm happy abou the colours that i've chosen. Especially the Grass Pearl and Space Pearl.

Price and Value:These babies are oringally 4.99, but i got them for 3.99. THat's crazy good, especialyl when you are use to paying much more for pigments. Pigments are something a girl loves, but hate forking the money out to buy because she knows that she would never even get close to using up half of the jar. So i totally recommend buying pigments in smaller sizes if possible. You get more out of your money basically.

Quality:

The pigments are very velvetly and finely grained. They feel just like Mac pigments to me. The only thing is that, they do not last as long as Mac Pigments. With Mac pigments, i can wear them alone, without having to use a base and the colour would last all day. It's even more incredible when you apply it wet. But with these pigments, i feel that applying it wet is more difficult to get the full pigmentation of the product.

The pigments are very blendable, just like how it should be. Nothing different from any other pigment in terms of blending. It was like heaven.

You will definately need to apply a little ( and i really mean little ) more of this pigment for the pigmentation. Obviously, not a big difference, but i did notice i had to apply just a tiny more to get it to pack a punch.

They last add dat, The colour wears down a little, but it does not completely disappear, but you will definately be able to tell that the colour has "worn down" a little. I wore it tonight to go see New Moon, and i can tell that the colour wasn't as vibrant as from the start, even when i wore UDPP(urban decay primer potion) underneath it. Perhapes a stronger base may do, or you can always use these pigments as a base. I applied it as an all over eyeshadow colour. I'm gonna try using a shade stick before these to see how the staying power holds.

Though, this may sound disappointing and it may be pointing you away from NYX pigments, but i think it's a great alternative for higher end pigments. You have to remember that these are not Mac Pigments ( i've only used mac pigments, so that is the only thing i can compare it to ) so obviously, it would be different, but think of the price & quantity that you get it for. I think it's pretty amazing. I think that it's still an incredible offer, and it's great if you want to use it as a base for your eyeshadow.

Recommendation:

Grass Pearl & Space Pearl

I highly reccomend them, because the colour just looks so amazing. The pictures will never jjustify how beautiful it is. The Grass Pearl, is a limey fresh green, with slight reflects of gold. SO GORGEOUS. it makes me think of a fairy. The Space Pearl, is a very pretty royal blue, definately wearable with brown eyes. It's the first blue colour i feel looks nice on my eyes. I do NOT have luck with Blue eyeshadows whatsoever. I always look so punched out or something. haha

My Only Complaint:

Now this applies to both these pigments and the mac pigments that are released during the holiday season. Because of the way they are packaged, the opening is narrow, and it's difficult to get to the pigments, unless you dip your brush into it. The first time i used a Q-tip to pick up the colours, and it did a good job in picking up the colours, but it didn' do a good job applying the colour. So then i tried it with my brush. You need a thin brush. I used a cheap one from Quo,

It's the Concealer Brush ( i don't even use it for concealer)

( but it looks like a very tiny flat shader brush) to dip into the pigments and apply. The application was much better then he Q-tip, but i really hate having to dip my brush into there, because i can't see how much of the product i'm really picking up, and then i have to tap off the excess. i Obviously can't just pour out the pigment, that would just be a mess and such a waste!

so i think that that's my only real complaint about these products. You could transfer them into another container later on if you guys want to. But i have a thing of keeping things in their original packaging. So it sucks for me. But i think i can live with dipping a thin brush in.

you can get these at Mac, or online.

Anywas, i hope this post was informative and helpful for you guys. Enjoy the rest of your week. I will be going off to bed now.

:)

P.S. i think i have to go back to get more now...hahaha :) They are too lovely to resist.

Monday, November 23, 2009

I am currently in the library and after getting a chance to check cindy's blogspot update for me, i decided i will do a response. THis post will just be a quick update because i have work to do and i'm just sneaking a quick post for my bff

TO Chan:So school has been rough, whichi is why i wasn't able to keep in contact with you. I wanted to txt you, but you never gave my your number, and i didn't feel like txting ken, cos apparently chan is cooler than chau. hahahaha. kiddd. Anywas, i'm waiting for Dang to send me the number, else just msg me on msn. I dont wanna post up the number on here.

I just finished an exam for Stats on Friday , and i was literally gonna cry. I was total murder, except i was awake and i ALMOSt expected it. I'm so worried and stressed over school. THere is a never ending pile of work, and i almost feel like i'm going EMO. Okay NO. i take that back, i am not gonna go kill myself, i'm just so sad and depress these several weeks with all the stuff that's happening. I'm unhappy with some marks that i got back, maybe because i have expected too high, but yah. I just CAN"T WAITTTT till christmas. let's have a christmas party baby. I wanna see your face. I will come down during my christmas break. WHICH might be after christmas, because my last exam is on DEC.19. OMG Kong's bday. hahahah. And i don't go back to school until Janurary 7th i believe.

I'm finished all my exams for the meantime. I just have an esssay to write, which i dont even want to think about. It's philosophy ..OMGG..so sad...you know how i hate philosophy. I still can't believe that you like philosophy. i'm so depressed. I wish you were in london to just...turn me on. hahahahaha. i'm kidding. I'm being random now..

Anywas, i can't wait to go watch New Moon.and 2012. people have been tellig me it's good,but it's always sold out. and you know kong's schedule, is gay so i don't always get to watch when i want to.

Anywas, i just pretty much have a lot to rant about. School is rough. The london transit is on strike too btw. so i just get a rid every morning, and it's good, but it's so inconvient, cos i wanted to do a seasonal job, just for the experieence and now it seems like that won't be happening.

I hope work is good fo ryou. Well actually, i KNOW work is good foryou, because your cindy chan, and you make the best out of everything. I hope the people don't give you crap, like at Stream. Hopefully you're burning off some fat running around. hahahahah. FFREE WORKOUT YOO!. hahahaha. well you're actualy getting paid for it too, so pretty good.I know you are still eating alot, because your blog is all about food. There is never a post where you mentioned food.

I really want hot pot now. hahaha. Jane, if you are reading this...hahaha. We need to get together for some hot pot. i really miss it, and SUSHII..YUMM...Now that it think of it....we are all about food. hahahaha. But definately, we should meet together for christmas.

That is all the update that i am doing right now, i'll be back later, to add some pictures.

Saturday, November 21, 2009

So, i have been looking for ways to store make up and i have watched countless videos on people showcasing how they store and oragnize their make up, but there i never found anything really ideal. I like to display my make up, because i think they are beautiful. In fact, i would love to have a room looks like cosmetic store. I want all my lipsticks lined up, brushes standing up, and everything just all organized and cute. In order words, i would like to have my room look like Mac and Sephora, with makeup in every possible corner. This must not be my dream alone. hahah.

So anywas, for the pass few months, i have been storing my make up in a little compartment. I'm not sure what to call it. But i got it a while back, at Giant Tigers, and it's basically just to store any little things you have. I use to use it for loose paper, but i decided to shove all my make up in there. My pallettes fit perfectly in the bottom compartment, and the top is all the other stuff.

Until Tuesday Night , when i was at Winners, after a lovely dinner with my bf's family at Mandrain, we decided to go to Winners, to walk off the fat. hahaha. Yes. And i just had to go to the body, hair, and misc beauty section, and i found these babiess

Are you ready for the best part?? the One of the right is 3.99 and the one of the left is 4.99! :D YUP. i said it! hahaha

It was so worth it going to Winners. So i spent an hour looking thru what they had. They had other ones, that were for cotton balls and what not, but i only picked up two of the first one and one of the last one. So i'm hoping to go back to get some more now. Cos i'm OBSESSED! hahaha..

i was so excited to go home to put all the make up in. I was imagining how pretty it would look the whole time int he stoer when i saw these babies. hahaha. ahhhh. :)

So here is a picture, of the lipsticks. They fit perfectly in there. I do have a problem with putting lipglosses in though, because they are taller, and these...organizers are not tall enough. So i'll be on the hunt for one for my lipglosses.

So here is how they look:

I loveee iT!

The 4 Eyeshadow Quad fit perfectly in there as well. Pretty good stuff.

Saturday, November 14, 2009

So i'm decided to clean up my nails today, because throughout this month it's pretty messed up, i should've taken a picture before i started, but basically, it was chipped, broken all over the place, and i had like multi coloured nails. I was too lazy to rub them off after i was testing out some nail polish colours before, so i've been going around with these bright coloured nails : not pretty at all , especially when it's orange and purple and blue on the one hand, just looked fugly. haha

anywas, so i decided to do my nails today, as well as test out the nail polishes from LA Colours as i said i would.

And here are the nails: Nothing special, i just wanted to see how the colours looked. It looked boring without any design on it, so i just did quick strokes for fun.

A REVIEW

The colour looks bold in the bottle, but when you apply it, it's very sheer. What a shame, i really wished it was much more pigmented. This is definately a nail polish that you would need to apply more then one coat ( which is what i had to do ). I applied the lighter shade ( RADIATIOn - blue) and then put on the sparkling colour Green ( Head banging ) on top, so that the colour would pop better. Then i used my fine tip Nail polish in black, to do the strokes, and added sparkles, because sparkles makes everything prettier. But you get what you pay for right. It was 3 for $9.99. A OPI nail polish is already more than half of that price. But anywas, i don't love the nail polish, just because its sheer, and i'm lazy to apply more then a coat. It's a okay buy i guess. I can't complain :)

Hmmm..i'm not sure if i would recommend this brand. If you have high expectations and you're use to using higher quality nail polishes then you might want to skip this, but if you are starting out with nails then this is a good buy. It's not a horrible brand, but the sheer colours that come out, was just disappointment for me. I think other drug store brands have much better pigmentation. I'm very lazy, i don't like to do more than a coat, and i find with this i have to apply more then one to get vibrant colours. ( two THICK coats, i must add ). Nonetheless i do like the colour once i've finish. You guys be the judge ;)

NOTE: Not sure about lasting power yet though...i'll re-edit this post after a week...

So when i went to get my black nail polish ( the thin bottle : it's a fine tip by the way ) it was thickening up and it seems like it's gonna dry up? You know that happens when your nail polish has been sitting around and somehow air has gotten it's way into the bottle.

What can you do to fix it?

What you need is this:

Well, i've learned this trick a while ago, but i really dont remember where i've learned it from. Basically when your nail polish starts to thicken up, and it becomes difficult to use, what you do is just drop a few droplets of nail polish remover into the bottle, shake it up and your nail polish should come out much thiner, and nicer. The amount of nail polish remover, depends on how thin you want your nail polish. I usually apply a few drops, see how it is, and then put a few more drops, if you feel. Don't over do it, you might just ruin your nail polish. I don't think it would work if your nail polish has dried up, but definately when it has thicken up, you should try it out. I don't like it when my nail polish is thick, because it feels heavy, and it applies on as a thick layer, (plus it takes forever to dry).

Thursday, November 12, 2009

On tuesday, i've decided to dye my hair. i haven't been paying much attention to my hair lately, because i've been so busy with other stuff, and i've been trying to stop styling it as often, because the heat is burning my hair. It looks pretty dead right now because i dyed it and bleached it so many times this year. I don't remember if i bloged about it before, but basically in the summer, i wanted to go ash blond. YAH i know, bad decision, for doing it at home. Basically bf and i went out to get the dye products and bleaching products.

The first time i bleached it/dyed it, it didn't go blond, instead it went orange, and i mean ORANGE. it was so disgusting, i didn't even know what to do about it. i was like so sad, everytime i looked into th emirror. So then i tried to bleach it yet a second time hopping it goes to blond, but i guess i was a chicken, and i didn't want it to go like white white, so i alwaysed washed it out before it turned blond. i don't know, something about bleaching freaks me out. What if my hair falls out? hahaha. So yES, my hair disaster, the next few times, i kept dying it to make it an aceceptable colour. So i think i dyed my hair like 5-6 times this year, all in a month. It was miserable. Surprisingly, my hair didn't all fall out yet, but i can definately tell that it's damaged, because i heat my hair as well.

So ever since that, i stopped with dying hair, because i don't want to do any more damage with it, but the other day i realized that my roots were coming out, and i looked gross. Especialyl when you tie parts of your hair up, so i decided i needed to dye my hair, to make myself feel better. You know when you haven't been taking care of your physical appearance for so long that you feel so blah. Well so i decided a hair dye would make my feel better. hahaha, and i LOVE IT. I don't even know how to describe it. This must be the most successful times i have dyed my hair this year. The colour came out amazing, and i love my dark hair. I just look so ...GAHHH with light hair. Maybe if i was tanner, it would be another story.

But anywas, so i was in shoppers with hunnie, because we didn't have anything to do, and we were waiting for steven to finish class to pick him up, so i suggested going into shoppers, and that's when i just decided, okay, i'll dye my hair today. it's already looking blah, how much worse can it get.

So i decided to go red, burgendy, because it's fall, and dark colours is nice, plus since i do have light hair now, the red would turn up super good. So i picked up LOREAL

i THINK* it's this box, but the image is different, same girl though i believe. i just remember it's was number 56.

This one is much different from the pass hair dyes that i have tried. This one has a shampoo tube, instead of a conditioner tube. It also comes with a miniture tube with "maximizing colour" benefits. Basically you add this to the bottle. The content in this tube was red liquid, and it was so intense. It looked like blood, because i got some o my hand, and when i looked at it, i thought i just bled. But anywas, i think this is the product that has made my hair look so red. Never have i dyed my hair red, that i have gotten this kind of result, so i'm absolutely satified with this product. THOUGH, i can't not guarentee that this product is just more amazing then the other hair dyes, because my hair WAS lighter before i dyed it. So that may have some impact on the results. Overall, i love this hair dye, aand what it has done. If anyone is interested, try it out and tell me how it is. I would like to know if it's just that amazing, or im' just lucky. haha

THOUGH, washing it out was a pain in the toosh. It was so red, i thought i was staring in a murder scene of a movie. the red colour just kept on coming out and out and out, like it never ended. So i just gave up after i realized that it would never stop. I tried my best to get most of it out tho. I still see the pink colour water when i wash it though. It must have been that maximing colour tube, i tell you. I left the hair in for approx. 45 minutes btw. Some part of my scalp has been dyed, but not alot. I just noticed two spots the other day. It should wash out when i shower again tho. But overall, nice product. I was a little sad that it didn't have a conditioner tho. I had to use their shamppoo, which was really creamy by the way, but not as.."foamy" i like foamy shampoo. But yeah. i had to use my own conditioner. :/. Loreal should definately put a conditioner in there. I always love the conditioners that they provide in hair dyes, they are so creamy and nice. It makes my hair feel absolutely wonderful.

Anywas, here are some pictures:

a Shot of the Hair itself:

A before, just to refresh ur memory:

When i dyed my hair, it was night, so i didn't see the red in the light, but the next morning when i went to school and the sun was out and about, my hair was literally sparkling red. You could also see the red when i'm indoors, but it's not like red red, it's just the tinted red. It also looks like there is purple in it? Maybe it' just my eyes. But i'm loving it. Absolutely loving it. I went all girly the next day, even when it's a school day. What i like about it the most is that it's actually noticable. Most of the time when i dye my hair, my brothers are like. it looks the same, but this time my brother was actually like...it looks different. hahaha. So i was happy. I got all girly the next day like i said. People started asking me if i was gonna go out on a date or something, i didn't even see bf that night. haha. Yah, so i had a succesfful dye...finally.....i don't think i'd even consider bleaching, or dying my hair a blong ever again...unless it's highlights/streaks.

Maybe i'll do that for the summer. For now, i'm embracing the dark colours. :)

Here is the final results:

without flash:

with flash:

i didn't resize, because then you guys won't be able to see how gorgeous the colour looks. It looks like i have purple, red, hair with highlights :D I also adjusted the lighting on the photos, just so you can see the colour better.

Anywas, this was meant to be a short post, but i ended up ranting. I'm actually at the school library right now, just waiting for class to start, so i decided to blog, since i don't really want to study in this short hour. I rather do something....fun..hahaha...ofcourse though, when you guys are reading this, it's probably gonna be night, because i'm not posting it until i have time to take pictures. So ..yes. just remember that when i was writting this, it's exactly 9.57 AM NOV.12/09. hahaha. i'm werid. >.< ....WHO blogs that early?? yah well, i've having ag ood day, because it's all nice and sunny outside, a little chilly, but not windy; so i feel happpy. Nice weather makes my happy :D

A last one by yours truly:

Edit: November 14th...taking a picture of the hair was a pain in the ass. It's so much harder to get a good shot when ur hair is darker. :)

Monday, November 9, 2009

i was looking at blogs and i found this video, i like the song, and it's quite sad. That's what you usually expect from a korean MV/drama anywas. I hope you enjoy.

What's new with me? Nothing really. I was at school all day, and came home at 6. I had a business meeting (for a project) so that's why i came home later. I intend to study today, but that plan failed. Not because i didn't want to, stuff just happens ya know ;). Anywas, i feel so sleepy, i've been falling asleep in class, it's horrible. I don't even know why i go to class? haha..anywas,

Midterms this friday and next friday for me. BLAH. you know where i'd be living

On the side note - LTC ( London Transits) will be going on strike on NOV 16, but they do reach an agreement. BOOHOO me, because now i'm gonna have to stay AT SCHOOL everyDAY until i can get a rid home, which is not until 6-7 pm ish. I refuse to walk. Damn life, licensing on strike, buss on strike...next thing u know it, school is on strike. DON't let my prediction become true tho, i refuse to suffer like those york students.

On the bright side, i should be getting alot of work done. Poor the university students that depend on buss transport though. It's a shame that it had to come down to all of this. I'm crossing fingers for things to work out. A strike is the last thing you want to happen. Think of the STUDENTS, (WEstern and FANSHAWE) people who WORK, and Elders. Tsk tsk* In this economic time, everyone is suffering, let alone buss drivers. Who would have thought that the transits would have such a big impact. BLAH

Sunday, November 8, 2009

I have been on a search for skincare products lately, because my skin has been quite dry, and i have been using products to get rid of some clogged pores that i have. So on my hunt, i have been browsing around in Sears/ The Bay cosmetics counters, and i have learned quite a few things that i thought i'd share with you guys.

On November 1, i bussed to masionville mall, ( a short distance) from my school, during my 3 hour break. I was on a hunt for a present for my bf's mom's bday, which was the next day. I could have gotten it earlier, but let's just say that i didn't know what to get her, and bf was not much of a help. He didn't know too much about what his mom wants, or what she needs, or what she uses, but let's just say this is a women that doesn't really need anything in particular. So i decided that night that, any present is better than nothing. Afterall, it's the thought that counts correct?

So when i got into the Bay, i was looking at perfumes and what not, but then i didn't want to get her perfume because she recently got alot, so my gift won't be too special, so i decided to pass on that. (plus she has a big collection of it) Since i was in the area i decided to look around for stuff for myself. I have been looking for an eyecream, because it's winter, and i want the area around my skin to be hydrated, since i do wear concealer. I alsoo wanted an eye cream with antiaging/prevention properties as well. I know, you must be thinking...Anh, you're too younge to be thinking of using these products, but trust me. I'll explain in another post.

So i happen to walk by dior, and i have never really looked into Dior products, so i decided to take a look. They had two type of eye cream. One in a tube, that is suppose to be for puffy eyes, dark circles, and carried some antiaging properties. I was initallly interested in that product and asked the sales associate some questions about it and how it works.

DIOR Capture Totale

Basically, as the girl there explained it to me, you apply this product in a patting form that will stimulate the area around your eye, which helps "breakdown" or get rid of the dark circles. Remember dark circles are basically just the effect of your capillaries (small blood vessels) that have leaked ( a normal thing) and because they are blue/purple, it's visible under the thin layer of the skin around your eyes. ( that is just a rough outline of what i have read during my research a while back on dark undereye circle, so if your interested just google it. *REMEM- there is more than just one reason for under eye circle). So basically i was quite interested in this product, but it did remind of another product out on the market with the same concept.

Garnier Skin Renew.

The concept is the same, both the tip where you apply the product from, is a metal piece, which would be cold when you apply it. I really don't see how that metal piece would do any benefit. To be honest, it reminds me of the method of putting a cold metal spoon on yours eyes when you want to depuff them. If you don't know about this method, basically you take a metal spoon, put it in the freezer/fridge for a few minutes, (enough for it to be cold, not frozen) then take it out and place the bottom part of the spoon on your eyes, and this will help to de-puff it. So when i thought of that, i don't know why i should spend that kind of money of something with a cheaper alternative. But ANYWAS- so i still asked her for a sample, btu she said she didn' thave a sample for that product, because it's special based on the way it's designed, so there is no sample she can give me, BUT she does have another eye cream that less of an antiaging one, that she does have a sample for.

It's this product:

HydrAction Visible Defense Eye cream with 20 SPF

------------ A Review--------------

She gave me two sample package for this product, and so far im liking it. She said this would be a girls "first eye cream". It's not heavily directed towards anti-aging, but it's more of a moisturizer for the eyes. I have been using this product for a week now, and i do like it. I can't say that i love it. The texture of this cream is thick, (which i like, because of this cold,dry weather) and it applies on smoothly, but it leaves a shine. I was looking for a product that has thick consistency, but a matte finish, but this one leaves me with a shine. You actually have to be careful about applying too much, because then it just looks a bit greasy. (But it doesn't feel oil or greasy at all, STRANGE!) So i don't realy like that about this product. I don't like the fact that it's in a jar, i much perfer a tube, or a pushy, it's just much more santitary, but thats personal preference. On the good side, it has been keeping my eyes hydrated, (I use it before i got to bed sometimes, and i feel greats when i wake up) AND it also has SPF 20. I really like the fact that it has sunprotection, because you know the world we live in today. The sun has a to do with how your skin looks, unless you have crazy good genes, and it's always GOOD to prevent now, then suffer from it later, a line jacked from Michelle Pham. It is a rather pricey product, so i'm not sure if i would actually go out to purchase this product. I kind of wanted a product with some anti-aging properties in it. I don't mean like those intense ones, just ones that will prevent and what not. But anywas, this product is okay. I think i would continue to search the market to see what else is out there.

Price is 47.00 Quite expensive, but that's expected from Dior. I have never used, or read about their skincare products, so i don't know what to think of it. Keep in mind tho, eye creams are usually as expensive at mositurizers, even when they come in smaller jars/tubes.

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So on my hunt, i went into the bay, and decided to grab something from Lancome, since i DO know that she uses that product line. The girl that was working there was quite nice, she explained to me most of the products and i told her my situation, and she reccomended an antiaging eye cream, or a moisturizer. But i felt werid getting her something for anti-aging, because she might think i'm trying to say that she's old or something, so i felt akward. I ended up getting these:

Milk Cleanser

Lancome Tonique Confort - Comforting Rehydrating Toner .

thought the toner looks so pretty because it's pink, i just had to get it also. I thought it was a cute gift, i almost wanted it for myself.

Prior to purchasing i asked if Lancome had any promotions, or gift with their purchases at the moment. The girl said no, but she still does have the gifts sets remaining from a promotion that they had a few days ago, and she offered to throw them into the purchase. I asked her what comes in the gift, and she started popping out all these products, 2 Lipsticks, 2 Mascara, Toner, Eyemakup Remover, Eyeshadow Quad, Primer, two makeup bags and a whole bunch of stuff that i can't recall at the moment. She told me that i only get to chose 5 iteems, but she said she can throw in one of each for me if she i liked. Ahhh, it was so amazing. hahaha. So i obviously was super happy.

I'm sad that i forgot to take a picture of my purchase, because it looked so cute. But basically, i kept the sample toner, and the sample makeupremover, and gave his mom everything else since i figure i did get her a toner, and she has a cleanser, so she didn' thave much use for the other two (plus i did want to try it) so i kept them for myself. Teehee. BF agreed :D. They came in miniture verison it's SOOO CUTE!

Lancome Toner - Alcohol Free

I thought it was alcoholic at first, but guess noti didn't use this one yet, because i've been using another toner, so no review on this.

Lancome BiFacil- MakeupRemover- claims to remove all mascara.

------------ A Review--------------

When you see this product you can see two visible layer, and one being of an oil. You need to shake it up and use a cotton ball to apply it. I'm stil not sure if you wash this away or not, but i do. I apply it to the cotton ball, and swipe it across my eyes, and this thing is pretty amazing. It gets rid of everything, and it's GENTLE. It does not sting my eyes at all, especially when i swipe it right across my eyes, and near my lash line. It doesn't irriate, and it removes the make up without making me have to tug my skin ( A BONUS ). When you look at the cotton ball, it's blue and black, i thought it's funny. haha. I guess it's the chemical reaction of the cleanser and the makeup?? i don't know. So then after wipping away all the makeup, i splash my face with water, and dry it with a towel. If there was excess mascara remaining, the towel will take it away with a swipe, because the forumla is oil based. I like the idea that it's oil based, but i also don't. The reason being is that when i splash my face with water, the area feels oil and it looks oil, UNTIl i wipe it with a towel. I thought that was a little strange, i guess it just takes a little getting use to. I do like the fact that is' oil tho, because it makes removing the makeup so easy and effective. ( OIL IS great for removing makeup - i use to use bio oil allthe time to remover make up ) The oil also makes the area around my skin feel more hydrated. I'm not sure if it's the effect of the makeupremover, or if it's the other products i've been using in combination, but my skin has been feeling great these days. This product, at full price is 34.00. The price is OKay. I mean i can tell already that it would last a good year or so, by the looks of it, but i'm just not sure if i'm liking how it's oil. We'll see how it goes.

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So that is the end of my shopping experience. At the end of the day i've learned a few things about shopping over these counters.

1. Never Hesitate to ask for Samples : I'm sure they have a shitload of them, that they don't mind giving away, you just have to ask about them. Show that you are interested in the product but would like to try a sample before purcahsing. It's awesome, because you can try it out and then buy it if you love it.

2. Ask about Promotions, when they have it, or when it will start. The worst thing is purchasing something and then realizing the next day that there is a promote for that. When i was at the Bay, at Whiteoaks, the girl told me last minute that there was actually a gift set with the purcahse from Elizabeth Arden, on $50+ purchases starting tomorrow, and asked if i wanted to hold off until the next day to purchase it and get the free stuff. She was KIND enough to tell me that, else i think i would've just bought it and never know. So you should ask, cause who doesn't want free stuff right? PLUS, these products are costly, to make the most of of your purcahse.

3. Return a Purchase for a Gift Set When you did purchase a product and then find out that there is a gift set from the line a few days over, you can actually return it and then repurchase it to get the gift. I actually didn't know about this, btu the sales associate there that told me about the gift the next day, told me that. So i thought i'd share. She told me that people DO ACTUALLY do that.

I hope you enjoyed this post. i had fun, haha. i didnt want to read stats, so i decided i do another blog post, before i start forgetting everything. The midterm horror is returning, so i would be gone for a while again. SIGH* just one more month guys, and it's christmas break :) that's the only thing that's keeping me going

Friday, November 6, 2009

I've been bad, i've been forgetting about my anniversary. The only thing that i can remember is the 2 year mark and school, and christmas, sleep, food, and midterms. hahaha. I'm so badd, and i feel horrible.

So that night, my bf called me, and i was in the kitchen doing stuff for my mom. He asked me if i wanted anything, he'll pick it up since he's on his way over. I told him i wanted drumsticks. I know random, but ever since my mom bought it that one time, i've been addicted to it. There is no more left downstiars, and i was craving it that night so i asked him to get me one.

I was waiting, and i expected he'll be there shortly, within 10 minutes or so. 20 minutes later, he still didn't come yet, i almost thought something happen. So when he finally rang the door bell i went up to get it, and this is what i saw

i was super surprised, and i love SURPRISEs. i think all if not most girls would love surprises. I was happy. I use to think, why do girls want flowers, you can't eat it and you can't do anything with it, all you do it let it sit there and wait for it to die, which IS the case. But it's not until you get flowers that i understand why girls like to get them. There's something special about flowers. I'm not even sure how to describe it, i guess it's the idea of recieving them and the surprise that comes with it. I love them. NONtheless, it's OBVIOUSLY not necessary to recieve them every month. NOT THAT I DO.

He use to get me roses, and i told him...Roses are nice, but they aren't the only flowers out there. So i guess he heard me out and got something something different.

What i found cute was he actually picked it out himself. How many guys out there actaully knows flowers? hahaha. I was just thinking of him standing there picking out the flowers. I thought someonet here helped him out, but he was apparently a big boy and did it all by himself. hahahahaha. so i just wanted to say, thanks boyfriend. <3

So i thought i just share that with you guys, cos i thought it was cute, and it made me happy.

HII everyoneeeeeeeeee. So you all know that i've been saying i'm gonna go to t.o to do some shopping and i did, but there wasn't really much shopping happening. There weren't any sales, so i figured i'll go shopping when they start having christmas sales, we just happen to pick the worse time, right before it all. So i didn't get anything really, just random stuff, and something very cool. and i mean VERY cool. I love my bf. hahaha

Anywas, bf and i went to yorkdale, after i finished class which was at 12. We got there at 2, and shopped for a few hours. This is what i was doing in the car...for a good 40 minutes i'd say

i hope you are proud of me. hahaha. I like my calculator okay, so don't make fun of it, i don't have tiny fingers to bother with the tiny calculators, why make life difficult?

Shortly after, we finally arrived at yorkdale, we were in Holt Renfrew first, cos bf wants to look at stuff, and i saw the coolest shirt every, by Disel. omg, i almost wanted it, but it was just a waste of money, 50-60 bucks for that tee shirt.

Here is a picture:i think i would get the most dirtiest looks if i walked around with this shirts. THink of all the girls that would shot me with disgusted looks. hahaha

The story behind this shirt is funny. So my bf and i have this thing, and the conversation goes much like this..this usually happens when he does something cute for me

So who do you loveeee?? - Kong....*thinks...*..... - Anh

Myselffff - Anh (obviously, i'm not gonna say "u/bf/kong")

...*biggest smile in the world...*...

-_____-'' - Kong

WHOOO do you loveeeee??? - Kong(yet another attempt)

...MYSELF!, ME, I - Anh..( i still refuse to say it....)...*laughs*......(and yet another rejection)

....*sigh....- Kong

You're conceited - Kong

...Hunnie, you know what, (me giving my big lecture) in life, you must learn to love yourself, before you can love anyone, because only when u know how to love yourself will u know how to love another..- Anh (Geek philosophical moment)

*gives up* - Kong

hahaha. SO back to the mall, when i saw this shirt i had to take a picture of it, because it brought about something between us, so i thought it was so cute. IT's actually a nice colour and it felt really nice also. But 60 bucks for a tshirt, boo hoo.

so we were in yorkdale for a while, just browsing around. WE went into TIffany and Co, i wanted to know what's the hipe about it. I don't know why girls seem to be in love with it. But when i went in, man the diamonds are so sparkly, i was like..gonna go blind. It's pretty crazy, they have security everywhere as well. haha. But i didn't really see anything special in terms of..design.

Our bubble tea- Green Tea with Red Beans. YUMMI

Hmm, initally i wanted to go to get a trench and boots and what not. i need some winter gears, but i think i'll hold that thought until some sales come around. Don't u hate it when you buy something and then it's on sale the next few days? So i went to the next best thing which is Sephora, since i can't get that here, until late spring. YES, LONDON will be having a sephora sometime sooon! this spring :D you kknow where i'm gonna be all the time. hahaha

I wanted to look for some skincare products, but there was too much, and you just feel so lost in there with all the products they have, you don't even know what to chose. I'm also a type of person that likes to read about good reviews on a product and know a bit more about the product before i purchase it. So now i'm just doing some research and reading reviews before i go back. So far, i'm thinking i'm gonna invest into some Philosophy products. A good cleanser and a exfoliator, is all i need. I also need a new moisturizer. The shisedio one is just a lotion, so it's not strong enough for this cold dry weather. Anywas, i will talk much moore about this skin care stuff in another post, bcos i have more updates to come.

So i thought that i would be coming out of sephora with a whole junk load, but i only came out with one item, and that is MakeupForever Primmer in HD. I absolutely LOVE it. A review on this product will come shortly.

So, the day was a bit rushed, because i also had to do errands. We had to drive to Missisauga afterwards to get my golden braclet's weighed by asian people, so we know the weight of it. My dad wants to give my golden braclets ( u know those ones that comes in 7-s) away to my aunt, so he wanted to know how much it was worth currently. If you don't already know, the price of gold has gone up since the last few years. SO hold onto them! hahaha. My dad promised i get new ones, so i figured since i'm not wearing them, i might as well give them away. So we had to time ourselves accordingly, after my stop at sephora, we pretty much looked around for jackets, but no luck, EVEN when there isn't a sale, so we decided to leave at 5, and head to missisauaga, to get the gold thing done and over with, then drove to brampton to see best friend.

At her place:

We got in brampton by 6.30. I had to leave early (SCHOOL NEXT DAY) so i had to make sure i have enough time to do everything i planned to, so shopping wasnt as good as it use to be. I miss my summer. Shopping for 24 hours was no prob that time. hahaha. So when we finally got a brampton i got to see my cindy chan. We stopped at kens place to pick up the laptop, and then went out to eat, cos kong and i were starving to death. I wanted pho, so we went to a vietnamese resturant. The food was MEH, bf didn't like it at all, but he was starving so he ate his pho anywas. hahaha. Here's our food

My Pho, which i forgot to take picture prior to. Pho wasn't that great.

Cindy's Flat Noodles, stirfried with seafood. This was actually good.

Kong and I's 2nd dish, Bun Thit Nuong Tom Nuong. It was customized, hence the poor dinky shrimp. They sadly idn't have this on their menu.

Some werid people, i don tknow.

So after the eating, we had to go to the mall, I forgot what it was called, but its where cindy is gonna be working soon. She had to fill out some papers so we had to go there, and she wanted to show me a nice cosmetics shop that sells nails stuff and cheap stuff. it's called DCW. I thought it was another store, but i've already been in this store, in Vaughn Mills. The only difference between this one and the one is that the Vaughn mills one actually carry some highier end brands, but some of it is USED? well it looks used. I didn't bother with it, cos i felt disgusted buying used make up. But anywas, this store in Brampton didn't have that. THey have the nail polishes, with fine tip brushes where you can do nice thin strokes. I've purchsed some perviously and i have posted them in my previous nail posts. ITs called "NAIL ART" if you look back in my previous posts. It's great if you are starting out with nails. i believe it's 3 for 10. I decided to get a few things from here, because i didn't have any luck in sephora, so here is what i got:

A NYX palettte, which i've first seen on pursebuzz.com. It's apparently for "green eyes" but i think it's fab for brown eyes.

Swatches and review will come in later posts.

These nail polishes were 3-10$, so i had to get some. haha. I need more colours for my nail polish collection. here is a variety of colours i've picked up.

And by the end of the night, we left the mall, and went back home. I was really tired,i napped in the car. :)